Plans announced for the site of Preston's last football pub

An iconic football pub, demolished two months ago, is to be replaced by a community centre and two blocks of flats.

A planning application has been submitted to Preston City Council for permission to build four and five storey blocks, together with a neighbourhood facility, on land where the popular Sumners Pub stood for 33 years.

The pub being knocked down in October.

The announcement ends months of speculation about the future of the land at the junction of Watling Street Road and Sir Tom Finney Way in Fulwood.

The application is for a two-storey community centre, a four-storey block with six commercial units on the ground floor and 24 flats above and a five storey block comprising a further 41 flats.

According to the plans the community centre will have two levels of "public information, social support and group activities." There will also be a total of 81 parking spaces on the development.

The Sumners, built in 1985 to replace a pub of the same name, was the favourite watering hole for football fans attending games at Preston North End's nearby Deepdale Stadium.

But it closed earlier this year following a decline in trade, leaving the building up for sale for around £600,000. It was snapped up by a mystery buyer and demolition began even before the new owners had received planning approval to knock it down.